Lansing area school, community leaders push for tough conversations about guns

Lansing area schools are increasing the number of police officers in schools, adding to mental health and counseling resources for students and hardening access to buildings but local officials said a big part of what is needed for school safety is missing.

About 25 people, including school officials, business leaders and local Democratic elected officials met behind closed doors Monday before a handful held a press conference.

Several superintendents said they want to see more conversations about community safety, which includes young people getting access to guns at home.

Sen. Curtis Hertel, D-East Lansing, laid the issue at the feet of the Michigan Legislature which he said has refused to take up gun control issues and has left a root cause of school shootings unaddressed. He did not refer to Republicans, who control both the House and Senate, by name.

There is little to no traction for gun legislation in the state legislature, said Hertel.

"It's the only way to actually stem this problem," he said. "If our legislature refuses, it makes it much, much harder."

Jason Mellema is superintendent of the Ingham Intermediate School District, which covers 42,000 students. He said difficult conversations — many of them about guns — need to happen.

"These are tough conversations with multiple perspectives and the challenge is when we look at school violence, a lot of this ends up being around gun conversations," he said. "What's happening with guns? Where do we look at and how do we create safer opportunities for our schools? We also have conversations about mental health care and wellness. And then overall community accountability."

Sen. Tom Barrett, R-Charlotte, was not invited to the meeting due to a mistake in planning, Mellema said.

"We ought to harden our schools, not into prisons but sensible protection mechanisms to make schools safe," Barrett told the Lansing State Journal. He is running against U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, for the new, Lansing-based 7th Congressional District seat.

Barrett said protecting the right to defend oneself and the confidentiality of mental health records are important and both need to be considered to encourage more people to seek help. Both of those should also be balanced to give law enforcement and schools appropriate early warnings about potential risks, he said.

"We need to be identifying risk factors, particularly of young men who are sadly the largest offenders of this."

Both Mellema and Barrett said the senator would be involved in future conversations.

The superintendents pointed to changes students would see in the fall: Each district and each school building will be a bit different but they said to expect a few more police officers in schools, controlled access at buildings that lacked it before and more access to mental health and other counseling resources for students.

David Hornak, superintendent of Holt schools, quoted author Jamie Vollmer and said teachers and schools are being asked to do more than ever before.

The work schools do each year to improve security is necessary and he applauded a state budget that proposes significantly additional funds but "in reality it still is not enough," Hornak said.

The $19.6 billion School Aid Fund that was finalized last week includes a $450 increase in per-pupil funding, as well as $625 million for "mental health services." Another $168 million is slated for school safety and infrastructure and an additional $25 million set aside for school resource officers.

Dori Leyko, East Lansing schools superintendent, said she is thrilled to see more mental health and safety funding but wants to see more about safe storage of guns and how families can communicate with each other about guns in other households.

"Oxford brought it home here," Leyko said.

Four students were killed in the Nov. 30, 2021 mass shooting at Oxford High School in Oakland County. Six students and a teacher were wounded.

Adam Spina, Williamston schools superintendent, said he would like more people to realize what school shooter drills do to students, as preparation tools and also as a frightening experience for many students and some adults. He urged more student involvement in future talks.

"Schools should be a place of love and learning, not fortresses and prisons," he said.

Rep. Sarah Anthony, D-Lansing, said gun restrictions, which she called common sense, could include limiting sales to people whose mental health or history could be worrying and to

In May, about six months after the Oxford shooting, state lawmakers approved $37.5 million toward school safety efforts.

Also after Oxford, the House also created a special bipartisan school safety task force the group to provide recommendations, co-chairman Rep. Luke Meerman, a Coopersville Republican, told the Detroit Free Press in May.

More: Michigan Legislature approves $37.5 million for Oxford High, school safety efforts

Meerman said the recommendations, expected to be released soon, would include a series of proposed bills that suggest more funding for mental health officers in schools, creating a permanent statewide school safety committee and more.

The task force tried to focus on areas of consensus, Meerman said in May, indicating that the consensus recommendation will not include gun control measures. But the task force will also put forward an additional report highlighting other ideas that failed to garner support from a majority of task force members.

The Lansing area officials said they intended to push for community conversations around guns, continue to assess best security practices and meet again with superintendents, law enforcement, legislators, business leaders and with students.

Detroit Free Press reporter Dave Boucher contributed.

Mike Ellis has just moved back to his home state of Michigan after 15 years of reporting in South Carolina. He's always looking for the next story that people need to read, please send any tips or feedback to mellis@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Lansing area leaders push Michigan Legislature to act on gun control